


Guardian's Dilemma

by Jathis



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Big Bang Challenge, Escape, F/M, Misogyny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 10:06:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4096900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucius is loyal to the Son of Mars</p><p>Almost</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guardian's Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the Fallout Big Bang a few years ago.

Caesar was always right. The man was the son of a God and yet somehow… somehow he had found it in his infinite wisdom to come down to the Wastelands and raise up a bunch of raggedy Tribals from the filth and muck and bring them to an even higher purpose and calling in life. Sometimes the Tribals needed to be wiped out or brought under control through the use of a collar but sometimes Gods are forced to be cruel in order to be kind to mortal men.

He was patient when he wanted to be in the education of his people but was also as stern and punishing as a father would be with a disobedient child. There had been times when the Son of Mars took the time to answer the questions posed to him by the young boys sleeping outside, as smiling and kind as if he were their biological father. Another time he had a boy’s jaw shattered for asking him a question and in the end the boy was thrown to the dogs for if he had earned the man’s ire; he was of no use to the Legion as a soldier.

The man was infallible, as the son of a God would and  _should_  be.

Despite all of this however; Lucius found himself being forced to repeat these words over and over in his head however and as the days passed the Praetorian became troubled by the amount of times he was forced to remind himself of Caesar’s wisdom and grace. He was the third most powerful man in the Legion and to have his faith in Caesar start to slip just the smallest amount could…

The sound of the guard dogs snarling snapped Lucius out of his thoughts and the man blinked and straightened his back. He frowned to himself when he realized that he had been staring at one of the banners hanging from a pole for an unusual amount of time and he struggled not to look as if he had not been paying attention to Caesar, turning to look at what the dogs were snarling at.

His features softened when he saw the slave kneeling before Caesar, crossing his arms over his chest before glancing over at her clearly furious master, a Centurion clutching a bloody cloth in his hand, the other pointing an accusing finger at the woman. The man had come from one of the lesser Tribes assimilated shortly before the Legion’s arrival here and although he had fought his way up the ranks at a record pace, it was obvious that the man still held on to some of his old beliefs by the way he wore charms carved from bone on his armor, the baubles knocking together as he went.

The man’s slave could not be distinguished from any other slave in the camp. After a woman was broken Lucius found that they tended to stay in an oddly grey area of life; neither living or dead, old or young. They simply…existed.

“This is the third stillborn this slave has birthed, Mighty One!”

“Third?” Caesar asked with a frown, glaring down at the woman in question.

“Yes, the third! She is blatantly refusing to give me any living sons, Mighty One! She’s using some kind of magic to ensure that my sons die inside of her before they’re born!”

“There is no such thing as magic,” Caesar snorted, rolling his eyes at the man’s ignorance, “I am more powerful than any supposed magic charm or spell.”

“Then why does this woman defy me and refuse me sons, Mighty One?!”

“Because she simply cannot give them to you,” Caesar explained, gesturing for the man to step away from the kneeling woman, an almost jovial smile on his lips as he considered the scenario fully now. “There’s something wrong with her. She has no special magic or charms that make her kill your sons inside of her. She is simply a useless slave who cannot give birth. Do you know what that means?”

Lucius watched as the two dogs inched closer and he clenched his jaw, swallowing down words of protest.

Caesar is always right. Caesar is always right. Caesar is…

The woman didn’t scream for very long once the hounds were on top of her. Antony had finally gotten around to teaching the dogs to immediately go for the throat instead of focusing on arms and legs. The two dogs killed the woman quickly and were soon tearing into flesh and tattered cloth, staining the floor of the tent with her blood.

Lucius forced himself to keep his face and eyes forward, knowing that the Son of Mars would know if he looked away from the grisly sight. If Caesar knew of the man’s discomfort, he did not show it as he turned to the Centurion with a smile, making a flippant gesture with his hand towards the exit.

“You may go and choose a new slave from the holding pen. Hopefully you will be able to find one who can actually become pregnant this time and give birth to a live child.” The man saluted and left the tent and Caesar chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he rested an elbow on the arm of his chair, placing his chin in the palm of his hand. “Some of these people are fools, aren’t they?”

“Lord?”

“He honestly thought that woman was using magic! If she could use magic I am quite certain she would have used it to try and escape this place rather than simply give birth to corpses, yes?”

“I suppose,” Lucius offered with a curt nod of his head.

Caesar raised an eyebrow at the man’s short answer, glancing over at him. “Do you not agree with my judgment, Lucius?” he asked.

“I always agree with your judgment, Lord. It is not my place to ever judge what you do, Mighty One.”

For a moment there was silence in the tent, save for the sound of the hounds still tearing into their meal. Finally, Caesar spoke again, his tone even and calm. “Your woman is with child again is she not? The Priestesses tell me that she should be due soon to give birth.”

Lucius nodded his head, finally allowing his eyes to drift away from the dogs, focusing once again on the banner as he thought about his wife. “She is, Lord.”

“This will be the fifth child you add to my ranks. The last four were all males, yes?”

The Praetorian nodded his head, his hands briefly clenching and releasing as he thought about the last four births his wife had endured. The last one had been particularly difficult for the woman and it had been hinted at they she may die if she became pregnant again.

But Caesar demands for his soldiers to be fruitful with their slaves and Caesar is always right.

“They were, Mighty One.”

“Have you ever tried to figure out which ones they were? The oldest of the four should be a soldier at the very least by now.”

Lucius was surprised by the question and he hesitated a moment, struggling to think of an answer that would satisfy the man. In truth he had at times looked at the line of boys training under their Master, spouting off the lessons drilled into their heads as they focused on turning their bodies into weapons for the Legion. Sometimes he found himself with a strong urge to approach the boys and speak to them, try to figure it out by how they spoke to him which were his sons.

Before he could answer; Caesar shook his head, waving the question away with one hand before pointing to the dogs.

“Never mind. I know that you would not be foolish enough to attempt such a thing. Just get rid of this mess before it starts to attract flies.”

Lucius hesitated but nodded his head, offering the man a salute before stepping forward, chasing the dogs away from their meal with a few deft punches to their flanks. One of the animals turned on him, baring bloodstained fangs at him before he dealt the dog another sharp punch to the back this time, forcing the dog to flee behind Caesar’s throne with his tail between his legs.

“You are always so good at keeping beasts under control, Lucius. Man or animal, neither can resist those fists of yours for very long,” Caesar noted, a hint of a laugh in his voice as he watched the man pick up the savaged remains of the slave, holding her carefully in his arms.

“Where do you want me to put her?”

“Throw it anywhere,” Caesar answered with a shrug of his shoulders, “I don’t care as long as the thing doesn’t attract too many scavenging animals to the main camp. Perhaps I should have let the dogs take their meal outside of the tent…tell some of the Priestesses to come in here and deal with the stain it left behind, will you?”

Nodding his head, Lucius stepped out of the tent with the body, uncaring if anyone saw the leader of the Praetorian Guard caring around a corpse like some kind of lowly slave. In the end they were all slaves to Caesar and his Father Mars weren’t they?

Slaves were meant to obey…and to always respect their master’s wishes.

He buried the body under a pile of rocks near the water’s edge, careful to ensure that the entire body was covered and kept safe from any animals that would come sniffing around. He was well aware that Caesar would have wanted him to simply throw her away somewhere, possibly in the running water or into a ditch as most of the others usually did with their “waste”, but he found himself unable to do such a thing to a woman who had only been unfortunate enough to be unable to give birth to living children.

Washing his hands of the blood in the water, Lucius frowned to himself as thoughts went to his own wife and her pregnancy. Bassa had been taking her pregnancy in stride, working as best as she could as her belly became swollen with their fifth child. She even still insisted on taking care of her hair, use oils to keep the black locks from getting dried out and wild looking. She had forsaken using the facial paints however, insisting that the men of the Legion could stand to deal with seeing a pregnant woman with natural wrinkles on her face for once.

Despite all of her bravado, Lucius had caught a glimpse of her when her public facade as the dutiful wife slipped away. Inside of their tent she didn’t bother tendering to her hair and sometimes she would steal glances at her reflection in a water bowl, thinking that her husband could not hear some of her sighs.

He never realized how dark the circles under her eyes were getting.

He hesitated a moment, considering whether or not Caesar wanted him to stand by his side once more. Glancing back at the tent, he frowned as he watched Vulpes and two of his own men enter and he shook his head, his mind seemingly made up for him. He could not stand to be around the younger man and preferred to be with his wife than listen to Vulpes blow smoke up Caesar’s ass for several hours.

With a final look down at the makeshift grave; Lucius headed back up to the main camp, avoiding Caesar’s tent for now and instead going to his own. He could not say for certain why, but he had a strong urge to check in on his wife Bassa and he quickly sent up a prayer to Mars that whoever had been assigned to watch over was not aggressively helpful.

He sighed in relief when he spotted which of the Priestesses had been assigned to keep guard in front of the tent today, knowing that she was one of the very few who could and would normally give the couple some privacy to speak to one another. The others were far too keen on staying as close to the couple as possible, refusing to give them a moment to themselves for fear of something happening to the baby. This one however, was younger and therefore seemed more willing to loosen up on some of the rules, (when the others were not around to keep an eye on her).

The young woman was in the middle of the pressing matter of braiding several small polished pebbles into a length of brown hair when she spotted Lucius coming. With a soft squeak she dropped a few of them to the ground and blushed, offering him a shy smile as the older man bent down and picked them up, holding them out to her. “Sorry…”

“You know that the others will scold you for such decoration, Tikva.”

“I know but…I miss having braids in my hair that meant something,” she confessed. “Why are you back so soon? I thought the Mighty One would have you by his side for the entire day, yes?”

“Vulpes has managed to gain control over the Mighty One’s ear and it is most likely that he will not be free until at  _least_  tomorrow morning,” Lucius said with a snort, shaking his head at the very idea.

Tikva wrinkled her nose in distaste when Lucius mentioned Vulpes but gasped in surprise when she realized that he had spotted it, placing a hand over her nose. “Uh…”

He laughed, nodding his head in agreement. “It’s all right. Do you think I would let him know what you think of him?”

“…I don’t see why some of the older Priestesses like him so much,” she muttered.

“Because they were taught to like all of us. Don’t you remember your own lessons?” He cocked an eyebrow at the way Tikva pursed her lips in annoyance but decided to drop the matter, shaking his head as he instead indicated the inside of the tent. “How has she been today?”

Tikva looked over her shoulder briefly before turning back to him, lowering her voice now as she spoke. “She’s going to be having the baby any day now. She’s been getting tired more quickly no matter how much she refuses to admit it. I was finally able to convince her to take a break a little while ago but…”

“But she complained the whole time before finally falling asleep,” Lucius finished for her and Tikva nodded.

“Exactly.”

“I’m going to go in and check on her. Make sure that no one attempts to interrupt us.”

Tikva nodded her head, stepping aside for Lucius as he entered the tent, taking the time to shut the flaps to give them their privacy as best as she could.

“Sometimes that girl can be really forceful,” Bassa huffed, her arms crossed over her chest, resting lightly on her swollen belly. She was sitting up, her back propped up with several cushions and animal skins. “Whatever happened to Priestesses being meek and mewling little toys for Caesar?”

“Would you prefer one of the older ones tending to you?” he asked, crouching down beside her to press a kiss to her temple.

She huffed at the very idea, rolling her eyes. “I would rather have Antony watch over me if that were the case!”

“You  _did_  say that you like dogs. I could always ask him to come and pay you a visit with at _least_  half a dozen of his hounds. You know how much he enjoys bathing himself and his dogs before walking through the camp…”

Bassa swatted Lucius’ arm when she saw the smile threatening to spread across his face. “You even try it and I’ll let his dogs piss all over your things!”

He laughed, gently hugging his wife around her shoulders, resting his chin on top of her head. “Such a fiery woman still…how long do you think you would last if you had been given to someone else to be their wife?”

“I would have given myself a second mouth across my neck if I had been given to someone else,” Bassa reminded him.

“I am well aware of what you would have done,” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice as he thought about his wife’s threat against her own life. “You were always such a fiery thing…even after the raid.”

“I broke my abductor’s wrist,” she said proudly, smiling as she tossed her head back. “Your people needed to throw weighted nets on top of me to finally bring me down and even then I needed to be knocked unconscious for you people to get any control over me. I made some of those young soldiers scared, taught them how to handle a real challenge for once.”

“You were always an intimidating woman to some,” Lucius admitted with a playful smile. “I have a feeling some of them were afraid of your body.”

“Hmph! They can handle overpowering young girls or women who haven’t had the chance to build up muscle but once they see someone who used to wrestle Brahmin calves down to the ground, they tremble in fright at the very sight of them!”

Lucius couldn’t help but look over his wife, noting that the muscle she had had in her youth had softened over the years. It didn’t make her any less of a threat; it simply meant that it was always a surprise when she busted a young soldier’s head for calling her fat.

“You’re lucky they didn’t simply throw you into the Arena…or kill you.”

Bassa rolled her eyes at the very idea of being killed, turning to look at Lucius. “You and I both know that Caesar wouldn’t dare miss the chance of having children born from a woman like me. He wants strong toys to throw at whatever he wants to take for his own and the stronger the toy the more battles it can be thrown into before breaking and being tossed away.”

“Bassa…”

“We only have one son left, you know.”

He frowned at this revelation, shaking his head. “You cannot possibly know that.”

“I’m a  _mother_ , Lucius. I know which ones are my sons. Two were killed when they were sent off to go and deal with that dumb Courier Caesar is worried about.”

“Bassa…” Lucius warned, growing anxious with the topic.

“The third one was killed for asking a question,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes as she glared down at the ground. “All he did was ask Caesar…”

“Bassa!” Lucius’ hand tightening on her shoulder made the woman fall silent and Lucius paled and quickly pulled his hand away, afraid of hurting her. “Caesar is the son of Mars. He is the Mighty One. He is my Lord and also my Master.”

“I am well aware of your loyalty to him, but how loyal can a dog stay to its master when all the master does is kick it?” Lucius did not respond and she looked at him, resting a hand over one of his. “You’re not one of Antony’s hounds, Lucius. Caesar may go around pretending to be the son of a God here but you don’t have to go along with it forever.”

“You talk of heresy.”

“Says the man who never once bedded his wife without asking if she wanted it first, knowing full well that Caesar demands that you bed your wife every night to ensure lots of sons being born into the Legion. Says the man who never once raised a fist to an unarmed person, raid or not. You insist that you are loyal to Caesar but you still pick and choose what parts of his laws you will personally follow and keep to your heart.”

Pulling away from her, Lucius shook his head, looking incredibly troubled by his wife’s words as he got to his feet. “I do not like the way this conversation is going,” he said.

“Lucius…”

“I need to get some air,” he muttered, leaving the tent, walking past a confused Tikva without a word to her.

He could feel pressure starting to build behind his eyes and he hissed himself as his temples started to throb, gritting his teeth against the pain as he struggled to control his own heightened emotions, the mantra that had been getting him through the last few days going through his mind over and over again to try and soothe himself. “Dammit…” he muttered, walking between the tents, trying to avoid being spotted by anyone else. The last thing he needed was for someone to see him showing any weakness now.

Bassa…what in the name of Mars was the woman thinking, telling him such lies like that? There was no way she could possibly know what had happened to their four sons. She was just getting emotional because of her pregnancy. He could excuse her for that…she was always an emotional woman whenever they spoke of Caesar and the Legion.

There was no truth in her words and suggestions that the boy with the shattered jaw had been one of their sons. Absolutely no truth whatsoever. Caesar would not kill one of  _Lucius’_ sons. He knew how loyal Lucius was to him and his cause. There was no possible way that Bassa was right!

“Women are so emotional when they are with child,” he muttered, rubbing his temples lightly with his knuckles to try and control the throbbing.

“Caesar demands to know why you did not return after getting rid of the trash making his tent smell.”

_Mars dammit…_

Lucius struggled not to growl in frustration when he heard Vulpes’ voice, lowering his hands as he turned to face the other man. He frowned when he saw the smirk threatening to play across the younger man’s lips and his hand briefly tightened into a fist, wishing for the chance to see how hard he needed to strike to knock some of his teeth out and thinking that perhaps he wouldn’t need that much force to complete the task.

The younger man seemed to sense Lucius’ desire, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards before he sniffed, rolling his shoulders briefly before speaking again. “He is most…displeased with your absence right now. I have never seen him so displeased before. Do you think that you could be at risk of losing your position for such a transgression?”

“I thought dogs were smart enough  _not_  to go sniffing into things that did not concern them,” Lucius countered, narrowing his eyes.

“Either way; Caesar demands your presence at once. I would not keep him waiting long if I were you. His patience grows short these days and I would hate to think what he would do to anyone”

Images of a bloody and tear stained Decanus kneeling at Caesar’s feet and sobbing brokenly while offering to kiss his feet flashed through Lucius mind as he walked around Vulpes and headed back to Caesar’s tent and he snorted, shaking his head at the memory. It was amazing how cocky Vulpes acted around some of the others…especially considering that people like Lucius were old enough to remember when the runty little thing had been brought into the Legion in the first place and knew just how close to death he had been.

“Lord? You wished to see me?” he asked, brushing aside the tent flap to the main part of Caesar’s tent, offering the man a salute.

“Did Vulpes tell you that I was incredibly displeased and was possibly considering having you killed and replaced?”

“…He did.”

Caesar laughed, shaking his head. “I am…annoyed perhaps but not displeased or even close to considering ridding myself of a loyal and powerful soldier,” he said. “Vulpes can be a bit  _manipulative_ with his wording at times. Do you think I should speak to him about it?”

“What I think and what you will do are two different things, Lord. What you think and do are law. I am only meant to obey them.”

“Well spoken, I’ve always appreciated you for that. You’re not just a pair of fists to keep order around here. You’ve got a brain in that battered skull,” Caesar said with a nod of his head. “Where did you go?”

“I went to check on my wife.”

“Did you? How is she doing?”

“She is doing fine, Lord.”

“Good good. It is always good when a wife is able to last through numerous childbirths. It means that the woman is strong and will hopefully pass on some of that strength to the child. However, even the strongest of women wear out eventually…”

Lucius frowned at Caesar’s words, unsure if he wanted to understand what he was talking about or not. “Lord?”

“Your wife has been getting weaker with every son she gives me,” Caesar explained, keeping his voice soft and low to try and calm the other man’s fears. He always needed to be gentle when he had this discussion with some of his men. They were like children who had become overprotective of their toys long after they could be played with. “Do you think she will live through this fifth birth?”

“Bassa is a strong woman. I am sure…”

“I am well aware of her strength, Lucius. But you need to be realistic about this. You are one of my oldest and wisest soldiers in all of the Legion. The men under your command respect and obey you. If you told them to jump onto metallic spikes they would for you. If not for Lanius I would name you my second.

“With that in mind…I need you to continue to be fruitful, Lucius. Your wife could possibly die during this birth and even if she were to survive, there is no telling if she will be able to become pregnant again.”

“You wish for me to take a new wife,” Lucius said.

“It will give your first wife some time to recover herself,” Caesar agreed with a smile. “I am not asking you to get rid of her, Lucius. I am merely suggesting that you take on a second wife. Some of the Centurions have been taking on multiple wives themselves and it has made it easier for them to perform their duties.”

“You want me to bring a younger woman into my tent…in front of her?”

“Lucius, are you honestly telling me that you worry about what your wife will think about you lying with a younger woman? She’s  _your_  wife, Lucius. She will think and do whatever you  _tell_ her to. Honestly Lucius, sometimes I wonder whether or not you gave your wife too much freedom over the years.

“She is just a woman. You are her husband. It is time that you start acting like it. I have been turning a blind eye to your behavior with her for long enough. You  _will_  take on a second wife to ensure that you continue to be fruitful. If your first wife protests then show her what happens to a woman who speaks out of place. You’re perfectly willing to show a man, why do you hesitate with a woman?”

“Women are weaker,” Lucius lied. “If I were to strike one then she would be dead. Men can handle at least another blow from me.”

“Either way, by tomorrow’s end you  _will_  choose a second wife. That is my wish and my command. Show me that you are still capable of obeying me.”

“I am always willing and able to obey you, Lord. I have not stopped obeying your laws and I will choose a second wife.”

“I knew you would not let me down, Lucius. You are simply incapable of doing so.”

“I am glad you trust in me, my Lord. I promise that I will not disappoint you.”

“You could never disappoint me, Lucius. Your honor simply won’t allow you to do anything that could upset me. Why do you think you’ve lasted as long as you have as the leader of the Guard?”

Wordlessly Lucius saluted and bowed to Caesar, walking backwards out of the tent, only turning around once he was outside once more. He frowned to himself once he was out of the man’s sight and he shook his head, chewing on his bottom in thought as he started to walk away. He would need to obey Caesar’s orders by tomorrow night…and the very idea made him feel sick.

He avoided going back to his wife for now. He was still deeply troubled by what she had told him earlier and with Caesar’s order he was certain that she would just bring it all up again and make things worse for him before she let him sleep.

Going home to sleep was out of the question…maybe he should go and have a look of some of the women being kept in the pen. He could try to figure out which he would choose to be his second wife; a term he still found unsavory just thinking to himself.

The sound of muffled sobbing made his stomach twist before he even spotted the pen and he swiftly turned right around, hands clenched into fists. He couldn’t do this. It had been easy choosing to take Bassa as his wife. She was strong and independent and had even said that she would kill herself if she was not given to an older soldier instead of one of the younger men.

The way new wives were chosen nowadays made Lucius think about how Brahmin, weapons, or dogs were handed out and it made him uncomfortable to think about the way the Legion was headed in its increasingly violent and cruel treatment of its women. He never understood why women were solely kept as slaves but then again…he never  _did_  stop to question it, did he?

Lucius thought about this further as he went back to his tent, sighing in relief when he found his wife asleep. At least that was one confrontation he did not have to worry about…for now anyway. He was sure that come the morning she would give full vent to her feelings once she was told about his new orders.

As he stripped off his armor and prepared for bed; Lucius glanced down at his sleeping wife, smiling a little at how she looked as she slept, lying on her left wide with one arm under her head, mouth open slightly as she lightly snored, (something she vehemently denied that she did but was in fact something Lucius had learned to cope with over the years).

Setting aside his armor, Lucius laid down beside Bassa, wrapping one arm gently around her swollen stomach. She was so close to giving birth again; Lucius wasn’t sure if following Caesar’s command would even be safe for her right now. Any added stress could just…well.

Lucius forced himself to fall asleep, focusing on his wife’s snoring and beating of her heart, trying as hard as he could not to think about what was going to happen tomorrow.

* * *

“You’re telling me; the great and only Son of Mars, the man who has the power to have you killed right where you stand ‘no’?”

Lucius sighed, clicking his teeth together lightly as he struggled to stay on his knees, head bowed to avoid making eye contact with his annoyed leader. He knew that Caesar would not be very happy with his decision not to choose a second wife; he just hoped that there would be a way for him to get out of this with his life and position in the Legion intact.

“Explain. Now.”

“My Lord…”

“ _Look_  at me when you’re talking to me, Lucius.”

The threatening tone in the man’s voice forced Lucius to comply, raising his head to look up at the frowning man seated on his throne. The two hounds were lounging at his feet, their bodies relaxed but eyes firmly on him the entire time. In the far back of the tent, Vulpes and one of his men stood by and from where he was, Lucius could swear that Vulpes was smirking under that hood of his.

“My Lord, I do not disobey you out of any petty need to cause you strife. I understand what you have been focused on the Courier and reclaiming the Dam from the NCR dogs that nip at your heels…”

“Then why do you refuse to do as I told you and take on a second wife?” Caesar demanded, narrowing his eyes.

“Because none of the women are strong enough to handle me, Lord.”

There was a long moment of silence in the tent after Lucius said this. Caesar’s eyebrows rose up slowly as he sat up straight and Lucius caught the sound of Vulpes making a confused noise in the back of his throat, seemingly unable to comprehend the words that had come out of his mouth.

“Excuse me?” Caesar asked.

“These women being brought into the Legion are all being taken by the younger soldiers, Lord. None of them are very strong in body or mind and are therefore too weak to be considered as a second wife to me. There is too much of a risk of me breaking them in half.”

The Frumentarii standing beside Vulpes suddenly bowed his head, pressing the side of his hand against his lips, shoulders shaking as he struggled not to laugh aloud. He winced when Vulpes’ elbow was driven into his side, quickly straightening himself up, hands down at his sides as he avoided the other’s glare.

“Mighty One, do not let his ridiculous explanation sway you from delivering your judgment,” Vulpes said, shaking his head. “It is quite clear that he has no intention of following your commands. If he is allowed to return to his duties as a high ranking member of the Legion without being properly chastised it will send a dangerous message to the others. I think…”

“I think everyone here is aware of what you think, Vulpes. I am always willing to listen to your advice and counsel about a lot of things but this is something that I believe needs no help from any outsiders. You and your man are dismissed for now. Return in a few minutes when you have finished with your business elsewhere.”

Vulpes’ eye twitched ever so slightly at the gentle chiding but he said nothing further, bowing his head stiffly before whirling around, pushing his way out of the tent, his man following after him but keeping a few steps behind to avoid being in range of any attacks.

“Vulpes is right, you know. If I were to allow you to continue with your duties without some kind of reprimand, the others will think I have started to grow weak,” Caesar warned, turning his attention back to Lucius once Vulpes was gone. “What do you think I should do about that?”

“I have served you faithfully over the course of many years. I have no doubt that the four sons I have sired before this are strong and serve you just as loyally as I do.”

“You say as you tell me that you will not be taking a second wife…”

“What you choose to do is out of my hands, Lord.”

Caesar was silent a moment, looking Lucius over. “I refuse to cut off my nose to spite myself by having you killed,” he said with a shake of his head. “Killing you would be a waste of a powerful soldier and a good leader. I also cannot risk having you maimed either. Anything that could possibly ruin your performance as a fighter is simply out of the question.

“Tell me, what other options are there left for me to take if I cannot kill you nor can I maim you?”

Lucius frowned as he tried to think of an answer that would satisfy Caesar, shaking his head slowly when he could not come up with anything. “Lord, I am not as wise as you. I do not know what…”

“Your wife shall be removed from your tent. She will be staying in a separate tent under watch from a Priestess and a Frumentarii,” Caesar suddenly said, cutting Lucius off. “The Priestess will make sure the birthing goes without any problems and the Frumentarii…will also make sure that the birthing goes without any problems.”

“Lord?!”

“That is your punishment. It’s fitting, yes? You disobey me because of your love for your wife so I am taking her away from you and making sure that you are not allowed to see her until after she has given birth and even then…well we’ve already discussed that there’s a chance she could die, haven’t we?”

He gave Lucius a moment to let his words sink in before speaking again, putting on an appearance of boredom now that he felt his issues with the man were over. “Now…”

“Mighty One, please…”

“Are you begging now, Lucius?” Caesar asked, looking genuinely surprised at the other’s actions. “You’ve never begged for anything before in your entire life here…”

“My Lord, I just think that…”

“This woman really  _did_  manage to sink her claws into you didn’t she? I’m sorry that I never saw the signs before now. If I had known that you were being mentally broken down by your wife I would have separated you two long before it got to this point! No wonder you refuse to take a second wife! This one has poisoned you!”

“Lord, I am still faithful to you!” Lucius cried out, getting to his feet as he tried to plead his case with the older man, panic making him struggle to find the right words. “Not once have I done a  _thing_  to cause you harm or bring shame upon the Legion! My Bassa has not poisoned me against you! I am simply not ready for a second wife and…”

Caesar held up a hand, cutting off any further argument from Lucius. “Listen to you, Lucius. You’re not even close to the same young man who killed five others with his fists alone to earn the right to call himself the leader of my Praetorian guards. You’re standing before me and pleading for me to spare your fat shrew of a wife! How can you explain such behavior to me, Lucius?”

“Great One…”

“Your wife is due to give birth any day now. At this point cutting her open and removing the baby from her will not cause any harm to the child from what the Priestesses have told me. So really we don’t even have to wait for the wretched woman to go into labor herself. In light of this information, she will be cut open tomorrow night and…”

“Lord!”

“…and the baby will be safely removed from her and handed off for prompt training with a wet nurse and a Priestess, depending on its gender.”

“…And my wife?”

“I hold no grudge against those in the Legion who have chosen to stay widowers after the death of their wives,” Caesar said with a shrug of his shoulders. His gaze softened when he saw the look of worry on Lucius’ face, shaking his head as he stepped down from his throne, approaching the other to rest a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

“Lucius, this is for the best. You know that I would never do anything to harm you, right? This woman of yours has been poisoning your mind for far too long. The only reason you were not challenged about it before was because I and the rest of the men under your control had too much respect for you. I cannot allow you however to continue with this farce of a marriage.

“This woman has been in charge of your life for long enough. You may find a new one or stay a widower for the rest of your days here in the Legion. Am I not a just man for offering you such a choice? If it were anyone else I would not be so merciful in my judgment.”

Slowly Lucius nodded his head, keeping his gaze focused on the ground, hands down at his sides. “Yes, Lord. You are most merciful,” he whispered.

“Try to cheer up, Lucius. It won’t do your men good to see you so upset over a woman’s death. It’s just not worth it at this point. Be grateful that she was able to bear you as many sons as she did before the end.”

“Of course, Lord.”

“Go and clean yourself up. Make sure you continue to carry yourself with pride. Letting the others see you like this may give some of the younger soldiers ideas of challenging you for your position,” Caesar warned.

“I shall keep that in mind, Mightiness,” Lucius mumbled, turning his back on the man to take his leave, grateful that Caesar did not try to push the conversation any further than what he had done already. Lucius needed to be alone to think about everything that had just happened and  _would_  happen in regards to his wife and soon to be born child.

He also needed to punch some rocks, knowing that if he attempted to calm himself down by sparring with another human being he would end up getting carried away with his thoughts and end up killing them.

* * *

Siri stared at the latest injured soldier to come in and crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head before cocking an eyebrow at the man. “Do I even want to ask what happened here?”

Lucius just grunted, holding out his bloody hands to the slave. “Fix my hands.”

“Oh of course! I’ll just go get my fairy wand and wave it over your knuckles and poof! They’ll be completely healed in no time so you can go back to scraping them against the ground,” Siri sniffed.

“…Woman, I am no mood…”

“I was given a proper name,” she countered.

He was silent a moment, his body tensed and ready to lash out at her when he snapped himself back, realizing what he was doing and he sighed, shaking his head as he relaxed his hands. “I apologize…” he started, trailing off as he tried to remember the slave’s name.

“Siri,” she offered.

“Siri,” he finished.

Nodding her head, Siri smiled to herself as she started to go through her meager medical supply, mixing a few herbs together before pounding them into a paste with a smooth stone. “What happened to your hands?”

“…I was relieving stress.”

“By punching rocks until your hands looked like you let a Brahmin run them over?” she asked, using a scrap of cloth to spread the paste onto the open wounds, wrapping them tightly to keep them in place. “I doubt your wife will like that.”

She noted the way Lucius didn’t answer her and she frowned, looking up at him with concern. “What happened, Lucius?”

“Lord Caesar has determined that she…is not good for me anymore. She clouds my mind and causes my thoughts to stray from focusing on serving and protecting the Mighty One. She…”

“That is the biggest load of Brahmin shit I’ve heard…and I’ve heard a lot in my time here,” Siri snapped, narrowing her eyes. “Where is she now?”

“She is being kept in a separate tent. Tomorrow they will cut her open to remove the child inside of her and…”

“And then they’re going to kill her. Lucius, what are you going to do about that? She’s your wife.”

“Caesar said…”

“Lucius, she’s your  _wife_. Every time I’ve seen you two together it…you’re different from these other people, Lucius! I’ve never seen you raise your hand to a woman or child here. Look at you! You nearly broke your hands just thinking about what is going to happen to her! You need to do  _something_.”

Lucius’ mind started to race as Siri spoke. Her words were echoes of his own thoughts and yet, he found himself unable to act on them. “Caesar said…”

“Lucius! If he’s the son of a God he should show mercy to his people!”

“He does!”

“Brahmin shit! He’s going to steal another one of your babies and then kill your wife! Is that something the son of a freaking  _God_  should do?!”

“Sometimes Gods must punish their people when they step out of line.”

“Lucius, you need to stop worrying about what Mars will think and start worrying about what your life will be like without her. You think Caesar is going to keep you in his favor forever? You can’t keep punching at rocks and pray that your problems will go away. One day your hands aren’t going to be as strong as they used to be and you’ll be thrown away like a slave with a broken leg or a woman who can’t get pregnant!”

He winced at Siri’s last example, shaking his head. “I need time to think…”

“And she only has one day left to live. Don’t waste your opportunity to save her.”

“You speak rather freely…for a slave,” he noted, offering her a weak smile. “I find it refreshing.”

Siri just shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not the kind of person to lie on her back and take whatever your people want to give me.”

“Neither is Bassa,” Lucius confessed.

“Then get your ass out there and help her. She can’t do this on her own and you won’t be able to live yourself alone either.”

“You make it sound as if it will be an easy task to do on my own.”

Siri snorted, rolling her eyes at the man. “You act as if you don’t have men willing to lay down their lives for you.”

“My men serve Caesar.”

“Your men don’t challenge you for your position, knowing that you’re getting older every day.”

“…How do you know that?”

“Lucius, everyone knows that,” she countered. “You’ve got no more excuses to fall back on to delay whatever plan is forming in your head, Lucius. It’s now or never and I doubt you’ll be able to live with yourself if you choose never so start working on the “now” part.”

Siri watched him leave her tent with a shake of her head, crossing her arms over her chest. Sometimes she had to wonder why this whole damned camp hadn’t imploded on itself yet with the way the men ran around, acting like little boys playing soldier.

* * *

Tikva’s mind was racing. Normally the woman had a quick tongue and mind, coming up with excuses and lies easily when she needed to. This time however, panic made her stumble over her words and she inwardly winced with every weak excuse that fumbled out of her mouth. The Priestess was the only one standing between two armed soldiers and a tightly bound Bassa and she knew without a doubt that if she could not convince them otherwise; Bassa would be dead.

Bassa was bound tightly with rope, ensuring that the woman would have no way of defending herself. With her back pressed against a pole, her hands were twisted around the other side of the pole and tied together. Her legs had then been forced apart, a small stake driven into the ground before he ankles were tied down. A strip of leather forced between her teeth kept the woman silent, sparing the men from her insults and loud swearing.

Standing between the pregnant woman and two Frumentarii soldiers; Tikva found herself smiling awkwardly at the two frowning men, holding her hands up to try and keep them at a distance. “Don’t you think we should give it another day or two?” she asked, looking from one to the other and back again. “I mean…if she’s so close to giving birth; why force the child out of her now, yes?”

“Lord Caesar said the baby is to be removed now.”

“Aye, but what if you cut deeply and killed her?”

The other Frumentarii snorted at this warning, curling his lip at her. “The Mighty One said she is to be put to death should she survive having the child cut out of her!”

“…What if you cut too deeply and hurt the child?! Surely you wouldn’t want to ask causing any damage to a child of Lucius’, right?”

“It’s not one of Vulpes’ children…and we’re not Lucius’ men either. Why should we care about damage to one of his whelps?”

Tikva mentally cursed to the heavens and back again. She should have guessed that men under Vulpes’ control would not care about Lucius or his wife. Now what was she going to do to try and change their minds?

“I don’t think Caesar…”

“You’re not supposed to think about anything!” one of the men snapped, shoving the Priestess out of the way in annoyance. “All you’re meant to do is sing his praises and train children to worship him! Anything else is beyond your ability and station!”

The priestess narrowed her eyes at the man’s words, her hands clenched into trembling useless fists. If she could just hit one of them without having to worry about being punished for it…

She jerked in surprise when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she looked up, her eyebrows raised in disbelief as Lucius walked past her and straight towards the two Frumentarii. Clapping her hands over her mouth; Tikva watched as Lucius grabbed the men by their heads, smashing them together with a sickening crack, watching as they crumpled to the ground.

“Lucius..!”

“Are you staying or are you leaving with us, Tikva?” he asked, not even bothering to look up as he worked on freeing Bassa, hugging the woman close once she was free and threw her arms around his neck.

“…What?”

“Tikva, we don’t have time to play around and think about this,” Lucius warned her, helping Bassa onto her feet. “I am taking Bassa out of here. I’ve got some of my men outside getting ready to let out the Brahmin to cover our escape. I just want to know if…”

“I’m not a damsel in distress, you know,” Bassa suddenly piped up, frowning as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I know you’re not, love,” he sighed.

“Good. I just wanted to make that clear. If I wasn’t pregnant right now I wouldn’t have been in that situation.”

“I am aware.”

Tikva bit her lip, looking over her shoulder and through the flap of the tent. “So once the Brahmin are let loose..?”

“We’re going to make a run for it,” Lucius said with a nod of his head. “I’ve got a raft waiting. Bassa will sit on top of it, I’ll be underneath it guiding it along.”

“So you’re leaving me on top where I can get shot?” Bassa pointed out.

“You’ll be fine, Bassa.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.”

“Lucius…”

The first sounds of alarm came through and Lucius frowned, turning his attention back to Tikva. “I need an answer.”

“Two people escaping is a lot easier than three,” Tikva mumbled, toying with one of her braids. “I wouldn’t want you two to get caught because of me…”

“Are you sure?” Bassa asked, looking at the young woman worriedly, walking over to take her hand in one of her’s.

Tikva offered Bassa a small smile, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been doing well so far, right?”

Nodding her head, Bassa smiled at Tikva a moment before suddenly swinging at her head with her free hand, striking the girl just below her eye and knocking her to the ground. With a sniff she cracked her knuckles, shaking her head before turning to Lucius. “Now she has an alibi for this,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“…I would have struck her behind the neck. She’s going to have a painful bruise now.”

Bassa just shrugged, resting her hands on her hips before looking out of the tent, frowning to herself. “Your boys work too slow.”

“I’ve always tried to teach them to work faster,” Lucius sighed, shaking his head. “Hopefully their new leader will do better than I did.”

“I doubt it. The fact that they’re helping you get out of here says a lot about your boys.”

He couldn’t help but smile a little at that, nodding his head just as the first Brahmin crashed through a tent, setting off an explosion of screams and panic throughout the rest of the camp. “Come on, that’s our signal!”

“What if someone figures out what’s going on and looks for us?!” Bassa asked, following after her husband, weaving in and out of the back of the campsite, keeping as close to the rocks as possible on their way to the water.

“I won’t let them touch you again. I promise. I know I should have done something sooner…”

She gave his arm a light punch, stopping him from going any further as they reached the water’s edge. “We don’t have time to worry about the past,” she said, motioning towards the raft that waited for them. “We just have to worry about getting the hell out of here!”

Nodding his head, Lucius pushed the raft further into the water. “Climb on then.” Once Bassa was on top of the raft, Lucius slid under the water and under the raft, holding firmly onto the wood as he started to kick out, pushing the raft along before reaching deeper waters, holding onto the raft as he tried guiding it along, gritting his teeth.

He couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of regret as he left everything he had known for years behind. In the Legion was the third most powerful man, second only to Lanius and Caesar himself. Out in the Wastes he would be a nobody.

Then he thought about Bassa and the baby inside of her and his grip tightened on the wood and he smiled to himself, pushing himself forward.

* * *

“Are you telling me that the man who can kill with his bare hands can’t handle wrangling a Brahmin calf?”

Lucius frowned, refusing to look at her as he glared at the prancing calf a few feet away from him. With a snarl he charged forward and he cursed when the calf immediately took off, circling around him before headbutting him in the small of the back, knocking him to the ground before running away again.

Bassa’s laugh made him blush helplessly and he growled as he pushed himself onto his feet, brushing off the dust that threatened to stain his jeans. “Well if you’re so clever why don’t  _you_ try to catch her?!”

Rolling her eyes, Bassa carefully set down their child in a wooden cradle that had been placed beside her chair and she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, giving Lucius a wink as she walked past him. “Watch and learn!”

“…I could have done that,” he muttered, watching as she easily took a firm hold of the calf and dragged it down to the ground, binding its legs together.

“You could have but you didn’t.”

“You’ve had past experience with this!” he snapped.

“If you’re going to be a Brahmin farmer then you need to learn how to handle them,” she countered, a smug smile on her face.

Lucius pouted but said nothing else, going back to the shack they were in the process of fixing up into a proper home. Picking up their child, he held the little bundle close, his bad mood slowly melting away as he looked down at his child; the first one he was allowed to hold in his arms.

“So what do you think of this place?” Bassa asked. “Goodsprings doesn’t seem so bad. Just needs more people coming through with their Caps really.”

“You think this place is safe?”

“A place with a dynamite expert, several armed people, and you and me living here?”

He laughed, nodding his head. “I get your point. Goodsprings is a good enough place as any to settle down and start anew.”

“Apparently these people know that Courier too. They say the Courier might just end up kicking everyone out of the Mojave when all is said and done; Khan, Legion, and New California.”

“That sounds like a good idea for this place.”

She smiled at the way Lucius looked down at their child and she walked up to him and hugged him around his middle, resting her cheek against his shoulder. “You think Caesar is still looking for us?”

“Most certainly.”

“You think they’ll look here?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“We’ll give them hell won’t we?”

He smiled and that was all the answer she needed.


End file.
